RIYADH, 26 March 2008 — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday held talks with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on major international issues including Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon. They also explored ways of strengthening bilateral ties.

In a statement on arrival in Riyadh, Saleh said his visit was within the framework of mutual consultations between the two Arab neighbors and to discuss the agenda of the upcoming Arab summit, which is to be held in Damascus on March 29-30.

Saleh highlighted the growing Saudi-Yemen relations, saying “our ties are going through the most prosperous phase in history.” He invited Saudi businessmen to invest in his country, adding that they would receive all encouragement.

“I also wanted to brief King Abdullah on Yemen’s efforts to narrow the differences between Fatah and Hamas,” the president said, adding that the two Palestinian groups had signed an agreement following the Sanaa talks.

Saleh spelled out the seven main clauses of the accord, saying the two sides had agreed to continue dialogue on the basis of previous agreements reached in Cairo and Makkah. He hoped that the agreement would bring Gaza back to what it was before June 13, 2007.

The two factions agreed that the Palestinian Authority would be composed of the elected president, Parliament and the national unity government. “The two sides will honor the Palestinian Constitution and law,” the president said.

Other agreements were: Revamping of the security apparatus, which will not have any links with any factions; formation of a coalition unity government representing all groups according to their strength in the Parliament; setting up of a high-level follow-up committee including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Jordan; and all Palestinian institutions will come under the Palestinian Authority and the unity government.

Negotiations in Sanaa were on the brink of collapse after both sides disagreed with the Yemeni plan to end the rift caused by Hamas’ seizure of Gaza last year. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, said both sides were hoping “for a positive outcome”.

While the two delegations accepted the initiative as a blueprint for peace, they disagreed on practicalities that would restore Palestinian Authority’s control on Gaza Strip. The two sides also agreed to hold early elections.

Fatah mainly argued that Hamas should cede control of the Gaza Strip as a precondition to restore the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. But Hamas argued that withdrawing forces from security buildings in Gaza should be part of an agreement to restore a national unity government.

To prevent the talks from foundering, the Yemeni President reworded the agenda to address those concerns while introducing new mechanisms for reconciliation. Saleh’s revised plan said that a solution should be based on the agreement reached between Palestinian factions in Cairo in 2005, as well as the Saudi-sponsored Makkah accord.

The plan aims to promote “the unity of the West Bank and Gaza” — currently split between the two factions — and the unity of the Palestinian Authority through a single government in both Palestinian territories. The revised plan aims at finding a face-saving formula that allows both sides to close the divide.

Meanwhile, the five days of reconciliation talks, sponsored by Yemen, also highlighted the growing disputes within Fatah over how to handle Hamas.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, an Abbas aide, suggested yesterday that it was unlikely that another round of Fatah-Hamas talks would be held.

Israeli officials said Monday they did not take the Yemen talks too seriously, but that peace negotiations with the Palestinians would be halted if Abbas agreed to a new power-sharing deal with Hamas.

“There would never be negotiations with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas,” Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli Defense Ministry official, told Israel Radio.

Despite Abbas’ reluctance to share power with Hamas, analysts say that with Israeli-Palestinian negotiations producing no tangible results, the president faces growing pressure at home to try to restore Palestinian unity.

Fueling Palestinian skepticism about Israel’s intentions, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday that it was too early to remove Israeli military checkpoints in the West Bank, despite pleas from Palestinian leaders and the international community to ease the travel restrictions.